The Monument to the Carabinieri, also called ''Monumento alla Fiamma dei Carabinieri'' (Monument to the Flame of Carabinieri) is a steel sculpture located in Piazza

Armando Diaz Armando Diaz, 1st Duke della Vittoria, (5 December 1861 – 28 February 1928) was an Italian general and a Marshal of Italy. He is mostly known for his role as Chief of Staff of the Regio Esercito during World War I from November 1917. He ...

, a central square in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. The monument was created by Italian sculptor Luciano Minguzzi (1911–2004) and is dedicated to the men and women of

Carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

, the Italian

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

. The flame which inspired the sculpture is a heraldic symbol prominently displayed on the caps of the corp, but it also artistically depicts a grenade, inscribed with the letters ''IR'' (an acronym for Italian Republic), and from which curving flames with 13 tips emerge. The flames marks the ''loyalty, fidelity, ardor and honor'' that define Carabinieri's service. The monument was commissioned to Minguzzi in 1972 and inaugurated on 3 December 1981, at the presence of

Giovanni Spadolini Giovanni Spadolini (; 21 June 1925 – 4 August 1994) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as the 44th prime minister of Italy. He had been a leading figure in the Republican Party and the first head of a government to not be ...

, then President of the Milan City Council, and Carabinieri General Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa. A plaque at the base of the monument honoring the memory of dalla Chiesa was added a year later. Dalla Chiesa, who had led the Italian military's anti-terrorism forces in Lombardy in the mid-1970s, mainly directed against the

Red Brigades The Red Brigades ( , often abbreviated BR) were an Italian far-left Marxist–Leninist militant group. It was responsible for numerous violent incidents during Italy's Years of Lead, including the kidnapping and murder of Aldo Moro in 1978, ...

, was ambushed and assassinated with his wife and their driver by the Mafia when he was appointed Prefect of Palermo.Mafia, Libera ricorda Dalla Chiesa in piazza Diaz
by Marcella Vezzoli, for Redattore Sociale, 3 September 2013.

References

1981 works Outdoor sculptures in Milan Monuments and memorials in Milan {{Italy-sculpture-stub